A blackout in San Francisco revealed a new way for robotaxis to go wrong. Waymo’s self-driving robotaxis can successfully nail a tricky left turn, weave through lanes to drop you off at the airport, and safely pass a U-Haul that’s idling in the middle of the street. But during a blackout, they apparently turn into four-wheel bricks.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH / ACCESS Newswire / December 23, 2025 / Recent service disruptions involving Waymo autonomous vehicles in San Francisco have drawn attention to a core challenge in autonomous mobility: dependence on a single network or network access technology.

A PG&E blackout that plunged San Francisco into darkness revealed how quickly self-driving vehicles can become obstacles when infrastructure breaks down.

A massive power failure in San Francisco turned a routine afternoon of autonomous rides into an unexpected stress test for driverless technology, leaving hundreds of Waymo robotaxis frozen in place and forcing the company to pause its service citywide.

An incident during the recent San Francisco blackout has harmed Waymo’s image. Elon Musk boasted about Tesla’s self-driving technology.

Waymo’s robotaxis suffered a serious failure on Saturday when a power outage affecting a large part of San Francisco caused problems for its autonomous cars in the city. Some 130,000 residents lost power to their homes and businesses,

Ross Gerber, a longtime Tesla investor and founder of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, has become a Tesla bear. He’s betting Tesla won’t catch up to Waymo in the self-driving car race, citing the company’s failure to implement new technology along with its soiled reputation as reasons it is falling behind.

We called the first ride shortly after 10 a.m. on a Friday to take us from downtown’s Sante Fe Avenue to the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Bronson Avenue in Arlington Heights. The Waymo took about 6 minutes to arrive and cost a little more than $17.

Waymo filed a lawsuit against Santa Monica to prevent restrictions on its 24-hour Broadway EV charging facilities following noise and light complaints from residents.

Waymo is preparing one of the largest private capital raises in the history of autonomous vehicles, targeting a $15 billion round that would value the company at $100 billion and accelerate its robotaxi rollout across the United States.